Spirit as a Substance, the Meaning of Name and οὐσία according to Eunomius, Basilius and Gregor of Nyssa: Contra Eunomium, III,5
Abstract
In the fifth tome of his third book against Eunomius (Contra Eunomium), Gregory of Nyssa discusses two topics: (1) Eunomius's interpretation of the biblical verse from 2 Cor 3:17 ("Now the Lord is the Spirit") that he refutes, adding his own small treatise on biblical exegesis, and (2) the distinction between unbegotten vs. begotten, on the one hand, and uncreated vs. created, on the other, and its significance for the doctrine of the Trinity. The commentary on the passage from Contra Eunomium III,5 (GNO II, 160-184) does not deal with these two topics only, but also with related questions that play a role in this passage, namely, pneumatology, the different semantics of the proper name and its relevance for the doctrine of the Trinity, and the certainly not unambiguous notion of OUSIA, as employed by Eunomius of Cizycus, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nyssa, respectively, in this passage.